Before the trolley there was a Spadina Bus!

circa .... 1989?
jet set should sing this on the way to work ;-)

White Squirrel of Trinity Bellwoods Park

I am not a very superstitious person but I do have to say, seeing the white squirrel 3 times has greatly helped my karma.

And on that note, check out this website on all things "white squirrel"

http://www.whitesquirrels.ca/

The Room

The Room @ The Bay

Leave the wallets behind ...

Maharajas

The exhibit at which I'm a Gallery Guide begins this Saturday with members previews today and tomorrow.

Art Gallery of Ontario

So, the panel visited the AGO yesterday.
I can't formulate a full opinion until I know what was there before the Gehry intervention. This task is proving to be very difficult as it seems like all pictures prior to the renovation have been deleted, off of .. the internet. Yes, the whole internet seems to be void of them. (Im sure there must be some around, but its damn hard to find, its like they WANT you to forget what it was before). The only reason I'm so interested is because of a very beautiful limestone wall found in the back courtyard which suggests there was a potentially interesting historic building here there at one time.
Since my practice is all about context and narrative, I NEED to know what was there in order to formulate my thoughts. I'm not a clean slate girl. Clean slates? They don't exist .. anywhere. All building sites have baggage. 
Therefore I will post pics of the AGO, from arcspace, and will defer my opinions until a later date.

Spadina and Dundas with billboards by Artist Barbara Kruger

Back of the building, facing Grange park over the historic Grange House.

Narrow

Article in Cyberpresse about two Toronto firms:

Donald Chong: donaldchongstudio.com
Drew Mandel: drewmandeldesign.com

Are you mine?

from TO

Stars

An oldie but a goodie
From To, to Ny, to Montreal

Spots

Some interesting spots to check out:

"Red Tea Box

696 Queen W, at Euclid, 416-203-8882. Tucked away behind one of the best bake shops in town, this intimate tree-shaded terrace and coach house feels more like the south of France than west of Bathurst. Spectacular pan-Asian bento boxes and fizzy lemongrass lemonade only prove the point. Warning: no reservations. Unlicensed.

Negroni

492 College, at Palmerston, 416-413-0005, negronipanini.com. If the sexy pressed panini – fresh buffalo mozzarella with tomato and pesto on ciabatta – and two patios don’t draw you in, the $20 bottles of Italian red sure will. And don’t forget to save room for house-made peanut butter ice cream

Art Square

334 Dundas W, at McCaul, 416-595-5222. Over the road from the Frank Gehry reno of the AGO, this Euro café-cum-art-gallery is an official Illy outlet featuring a short card of crepes and house-made truffles. Bonus: one of the prettiest secret courtyard patios in the city. Open daily 10 am to 10 pm. Licensed. Access: four steps at door, washrooms in basement."

Tons more coffee spots here

For home hunting in Toronto, you need fuel...

...and mine was lattes... tons and tons of lattes.
So basically each place I was going to visit, I would walk around and try to find a cute neighbourhood café I could hang out at...

A few of my choices:

Manic Coffee, in my old neighbourhood of Kensington Market/Chinatown....
426 College

Belljar café
2072 Dundas Street West (Roncesvalles area)
Web article

Lit Espresso Bar
810 College (near Ossington)
Beautiful Interiors

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